The Great 'I Gekko' Blogs

Hi all

Read the ranting and ravings of Gekko at the new blog he started: Gekko Speaks

That is, if anybody reads MY rantings that is :p

Maybe he can give some comments on my blog and website!?

Leon

Another change in lifestyle: Gym

One thing I forgot to mention in my list of changes that I've made since the beginning of the year, is that I've started going to the gym. This is only a recent change (since 1 September) that I implemented since becoming more settled here in London.

I've been meaning to start going to the gym for a long while now - actually since I went to university. The story I've been telling myself is: 'I should really be going to the gym.' And on occasion I'll tell other people that I intend to start gymming when I go to varsity/back to varsity/work/back to work/etc. And I actually never did it for long - if I did at all.

Then, as I was staying at my parents place just before I came over to London, I was telling my dad that I should really start to gym when I'm in London. And in a laughing/kind parental manner told me: 'Well, you've been saying that since you started varsity.'

What was I to do? That was (indirectly) questioning my integrity (not doing what I say I'll do). So this time round its different.

I've started in September. Signed up for 12 months. And have been going every weekday morning (before work), except for the last week when I was ill with the flu.

And I will continue doing it. Because I said I will. (And I am a person of integrity)

If you are a woman on the path to financial freedom

For all my female readers, I met some very interesting women at the Rich Dad Forums Get Together back in March and they have a amazing piece of blogging going on at:

Really No Limits Ladies

It is definitely worth a piece of your time :)

Almost 1 year later

Yip, I post again.

Why haven't I posted for 10 months? I got distracted. World of Warcraft. Do I need to say more?

Why post now? Cause I can.

A bit about these past ten months (besides the humongous amount of time spent in World of Warcraft):

- I went to the Rich Dad Forums Get Together in March 2006.
- My house was broken into when I came back from that.
- Insurance doesn't want to pay out because I tried to get too much money from them (it was in good conscience from my side, but they didn't see that:( )
- I emigrated to the United Kingdom (August 2006). I'm currently in London on a HSMP (Highly Skilled) visa.
- Am in the process of selling my two South African properties, but it is difficult from a distance.
- My website is still up and earning some money in the background.

Yip, in a nutshell, that is what happened. So what is happening in the future? Who knows, but I think I should try to scale down on World of Warcraft and get my focus on making some money back.

What do you think?

I will act now - The Scroll Marked IX

Long before I actually started reading 'The Greatest Secret in the World', I had found a quote by Og Mandino that I thought would be a got motto to live by: "I will act now. I will act now. I will act now."

A while back a wrote an article "Work is the key" (do a search on Google). After some more thought (and reading this book), I would like to change it to: Action is the key. Work has that negative connotation, while action sounds somewhat better. I will act now! How much power those four words contain! Will you act now, or will you postpone just a little bit longer?

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On a somewhat different note: I just launched my second SBI site: Toastmasters Public Speaking - Public speaking skills as taught by Toastmasters.

The Greatest Secret in the World

Well, I've finally read far enough into the book, The Greatest Secret in the World, for the author to share what he believes it is. The greatest secret in the world (paraphrasing) is:

"You only have to bit a small, measurable amount better than mediocrity and you've got it made."

Can you believe it? Just ask a few of your more succesful friends and ask them if they believe this is true. Isn't that what employers want from their employees? Just be a bit better than mediocre and we'll pay you real well?

I believe it is so, but to defend my view point, let me tell you what I define as mediocrity: "not doing something because you don't HAVE to". So, if you are slightly better that mdeiocre, you'll do more than you have to and become more than you were (and get paid more).

What do you think?

To quit or not to quit?

This weekend I did some serious thinking and soul searching. Should I quit my job or shouldn't I? If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I've set a goal at the beginning of the year to quit my job around this time (actually today) with R20,000 'non-employment' income per month. The date has come but not the income. So what am I to do? Was the quitting conditional on the income? Or was the income conditional on quitting? Or was quitting independent of income?

Well, after much soul searching (and discussion with risk averse parents - who have happened to be surity on some outstanding student loan debt) I've decided to stay on for a while at my current place of employment.

One of the weaknesses of my plan I've identified, is the issue of accountability. So far, I haven't been accountable to anyone. I'm a free man after all (see my list of life values in previous post)! But not having to answer to anyone (even self-inflicted) is detrimental to achieving my goals, so I'm hooking up with (at least) one like-minded individual, with the aim of hatching an accountability project.

Is accountability the answer? It might or might not be, but in the end, its also just a frame of mind. So once again I'm faced with a choice: do I want to be accountable, or don't I?

Choices...choices...(the fabric of freedom...and responsibility)

My top 10 life values

I'm in the process of reading Anthony Robbins' book 'Awaken the Giant Within' and I'm at the stage where I define what my current life values are. Below I've set out what they are. Please note, as in the book, that these might/will probably change and is only what they were at the time that I did the exercise. After changing what I value (and the beliefs associated to it) I will also post an 'after' picture (compared to this 'before' picture').

My top 10 'towards' values:

1. Freedom.
   
2. Growth.
   
3. Friendship.
   
4. Success.
   
5. Intelligence.
   
6. Love.
   
7. Intimacy.
   
8. Naughtiness.
   
9. Integrity.
   
10. Happiness.
    

My top 10 'away-from' values:

1. Loneliness.
   
2. Humiliation.
   
3. Incompetency.
   
4. Guilt.
   
5. Disappointment.
   
6. Depression.
   
7. Insecurity.
   
8. Rejection.
   
9. Worry.
   
10. Confrontation.

There you now have the 'before' picture. Once I've done the rest of the exercise I will also post the 'after' picture to give an idea of who I want to become.

Regards
Leon

Scroll VI: Today I will be master of my emotions

Yip, I'm still reading the book of Og Mandino 'The Greatest Secret in the World' and I'm on scroll VI: Today I will be master of my emotions.

The thing that helps to keep me motivated is the score sheet of everyday (and week). I don't score perfect scores by any means, but the fact of keeping score makes me feel that there is still value in reading the book.

But let's get back to the topic - Being master of my emotions. It is not at all easy to do, but the one thing that is stuck in my mind from this day is 'Weak is he whose thoughts control his actions. Strong is he whose actions control his thoughts'. Let me mention one example: smiling. Action. If I smile, I immediately feel better. If I try to do it the other way around - thinking I should be feeling happy so I could smile - it often doesn't work. Though, getting out of bed before thinking that I could lie in is a whole different ballgame ;)


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Know who Donald Gordon is? Heard of Liberty Life International or Liberty Life Insurance? He's the man who founded these 2 billion-dollar companies in two different countries. You can read his biography here.

Some financial changes

The month of August is the month where we get our raises from my current employer. It is also the time for bonuses to be paid out. So the month of August was a month of abundance ito money.

At the beginning of August I had also moved house into one of the properties that I bought earlier. It's a 4Br/1.5Ba house in an older suburb of town. Though I moved in on the first, the property was only transferred to my name on the 18th, meaning that my first bond payment will only go off on the first of October.

The other property I bought (a 2Br/1Ba for rental purposes) is now also on my name (actually transferred on the 3rd of August) and the first mortgage payment went of on the 1st of September. I thought I would collect the rent myself, but I actually never got around to paying some attention to that house (being in my own new house at the same time), so I contracted the management of the house out to an agent at 8% commission and I sleep better now.

I will post my financial situation again once I see what all the deductions (houses) and income (rentals and pay increase) is at the start of the new month.

Regards
Leon van der Walt
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